Library
Philosophy and Practice2011

Corruption Eradication in Nigeria: An Appraisal

Introduction

Some of the things that cause poverty in Nigeria are the Nigerian ruling and
business elite. The ruling elite lack the kind of
philosophical and ideological vision and orientation that is committed
to developing "a dream society." They have no dream beyond the
satisfaction of desires. This paper examines the nature
of corruption in Nigeria.

Definition

Corruption is a social problem that has interested many scholars.
Ruzindana (1999) asserts that corruption in Africa is a problem of
routine deviation from established standards and norms by public
officials and parties with whom they interact. He also identifisd the
types of corruption in Africa as bribery, private gain, and other benefits to non-existent workers and
pensioners (called ghost workers). The dishonest and illegal behavior exhibited especially by people
in authority for their personal gain is corruption. According to the
ICPC Act (section 2), corruption includes vices like bribery, fraud, and
other related offences. Corruption is the abuse or misuse of
power or position of trust for personal or group benefit (monetary or
otherwise).

Corruption
is a symptom of numerous difficulties within contemporary
societies. It usually
involves more than one party. It takes a form of an
organized crime. At times, an organization can be established on
corruption to beget corruption. Gbenga (2008) asserts that corruption
is contagious. According to thfe perception index of
Transparency International, Nigeria was ranked 144th out of the 146
countries, beating Bangladesh and Haiti to last position. An
analysis of the anti-graft/anti-corruption laws in Nigeria shows that
corruption will continue in spite of the laws because the perpetrators
do not fear any consequences. It is now dawning on
the Nigerian public that the so-called private enterprise
and legislators are free from scrutiny, and governors claim to be
immune. Corruption is found in the award of contracts, promotion
of staff,
dispensation of justice, and misuse of public offices, positions, and
privileges, embezzlement of public funds, public books, publications,
documents, valuable security, and accounts. Corruption can be
systematic in nature and
affect the whole life of an organization or society.

Corruption in Nigeria

John Locke outlined the doctrine of
the separation of powers, indicating the danger of oppressive and
arbitrary rule when all functions of government are exercised
by a single person or institution. The growing corruption in Nigeria
can be traced to people holding power at the federal, state,
and local government levels. Corruption does not involve just people in government, but also to people in both private and
public positions and even traditional rulers .

President Olusegun Obasanjo presented
a bill to the national assembly on “the prohibition and punishment of
bribery, corruption, and other related offences bill of 1999”. Obasanjo's regime has certainly fired the most critical
shot at corruption in Nigeria in recent times. At
the federal level, it cannot be business as usual in Nigeria. Corruption has also spread to both the
state and local government levels, as well as some decentralized
centers of power and authority.

Thomson (2004) reports on the then National Electric
Power Authority (NEPA):

There were powerful views on the problems of corruption. ... You need
tip them to get them to rectify a problem, said one, while some
people in the focus group thought transformer were being vandalized by
NEPA officials to warrant either replacement or repair of the
transformer.

Within
the educational sector in Nigeria, especially from secondary to
university levels, corruption is very pervasive, and most of which is
not in the public eye. Corruption in education includes:

Corrupt Practices by Parents of Students

Parents are known to have used unorthodox
means to influence their children's or wards' admission to federal
government secondary schools, commonly referred to as unity schools. A
high JAMB score is critical for admission in to the
university in Nigeria, and this has led to cheating by some students
and parents. There are expensive coaching centers that charge
exorbitant
fees to guarantee a minimum score of 300 in the JAMB score, which
is been orchestrated by coaching centers
through aiding and abetting cheating in the JAMB examination with
the
connivance of JAMB officials.

Corrupt Practices by Lecturers

Within the university system, some students resort to "sorting" (finding ways of purchasing of high and
unmerited mark from a lecturer in order to enhance the grade
in their final examination.) Such students will then say they have
gone into the university and having what they not work for. Lecturers
and students print fake receipts, which they use in collecting school
fees, and some unsuspecting students are usually discovered by
the audit department.

Corrupt Practice by Police

It has been alleged that some unscruplous officers
rent firearms to criminals who use them to harass
the public and engage in highway robberies. The police are also
alleged to be collecting an unauthorized fee
before granting bail to anyone who is arrested. Some police in traffic
control collect a graduated illegal charge on all operators of
inter- and intra-city. Some tax officials are alleged to be
using two types of receipts to collect revenue. Once receipt
is the original, and hence genuine, while the second
is usually a false one for the collector.s private use, thus depriving
government of its legitimate revenue (Bello Iman 2005)

Causes of Corruption in Nigeria

With
unchecked, unbridled, and
uncontrolled, power, humans become corrupt. According to Thomas
Hobbes, “life
becomes solitary, nasty, brutish, and short." Our previous colonial
background has been identified by scholars. Our colonial heritage
has altered our values and perception of morality; some of
the causes of corruption are:

Trade Restriction. This is Government-induced source of rent a
seeking/corruption. The restriction on importation of
foreign automobiles are
examples of how government officials and politicians can make quick money via rent seeking/corruption.

Government
subsidies. When government allocates scarce
recourses to individuals and firms using legal criteria other than the
ability or willingness to pay, corruption is likely to be the result.
Corruption can thrive under industrial policies that allow
poorly-targeted subsidies to be appropriated by firms for which they
are not
intended.

Price controls. The purpose is to lower the price of some goods
below market value. For social and political reason, these are
also a source of corruption.

Low wages in civil service. When public wages are low, public servants
may be compelled to use their official positions to collect bribes as a way of
making ends meet, particularly when the chances of being caught are
low.

Sociological
factors. Muilti-ethnic societies may be more likely to fall prey to
corruption as a result of failure to manage ethnic conflict in a way
that is fair to everyone.

Effect of Corruption on Nation-Building

Many have noted the effects of corruption on nation-building.
Development scholars observe this effect. Corruption has an adverse
effect on social and economic development and also in building a
nation. The effects include:

Diversion of development resources for private gain

Misallocation of talent

Lost tax revenue

Negative impact on quality of infrastructure and public services

Slowing of economic growth.

Role of Law Enforcement in Combating Corruption

Before President Olusegun Obasanjo's regime, the police and
some related agencies were the only ones fighting corruption. When
Obasanjo became president in 1999, the Economic Financial Crime
Commission (EFCC) and
the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences (ICPC)
were put
in place, they have dealt seriously with the pandemic situation. The
EFCC and ICPC have a number of roles in fighting corruption in
Nigeria. The ICPC is not subject to the
direction or control of any person or authority. The EFCC collaborates with international and local
agencies.

Solutions

In order to prevent corruption from
happening at all, Nigerian should emphasis transparency, integrity, and
accountability in all their private and public transaction. There
Achanism Model is named for Achan who appears in the Old Testament of
the Bible. Achan in the scripture was
avaricious (Joshua 7). He was caught and his
entire family was severely dealt with. His children, who might
have expected to inherit the proceeds of his illegal act were not
allowed to do so. The solution is as follows:

Social Transformation. Rransformation in education of the public is a
necessary factor in social transformation.
There is need for formation and reformation, orientation and
re-orientation of the minds and heart of Nigerians, for them to see that corruption is the enemy of
development.

Enforcement of Anti-Corruption Law. The law
should be enforced to its fullest and without fear and favor.

Improvement of Sociopolitical and Economic Life. This
is another weapon against corruption in Nigeria. The multiplying
effects of this improvement will reduce the tendency of public servants
to demand and take bribes and get involved in other corrupt practices.

Conclusion

Corruption in Nigeria is systematic, and to
address the problem a systematic approach is needed. To curb and
eventually eradicate corruption, children, youth,
and adults must be given the power to distinguish right
from wrong. All schools should return to the teaching of moral
education to empower children with the spirit of stewardship, while
adults live exemplary lives, reflecting truth, kindness, dignity of
labour, and integrity. Permit me to conclude with this popular Yoruba
moral song on corruption.

The condition of peace of mind is contentment. Thirst for ease of mind.
Get satisfaction, be placed with what you have changed to grow, and serve
our nation, for God’s sake. Look to see the miseries and damages of
graft. Listen today to learn and beautify your society

References

I.B. Bello-Imam (2005).The war against corruption in
Nigeria: Prospects and problems.